Golf is a game that has been popular in many parts of the world for many generations. Part of the game's popularity is due to the fact that it is one of the few "life sports". That is, complete retirement because of age is rarely necessary. Golf provides an excellent vehicle for reasonable exercise for an extremely wide range of people. It also provides outdoor exercise and peaceful settings for mental repose.
The nature of the game requires that a substantial amount of equipment (e.g. clubs) be carried with the golfer as he moves about the course. The clubs are generally carried in some type of golf bag. One of the problems inherent in carrying clubs in a bag is that the clubs are simply mixed together randomly. Therefore, many devices have been designed in an effort to bring order to the golf bag.
Some of these devices are complete golf bags. An example is the "Golf Bag System" of Street, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,684, issued Jan. 20, 1981. This device is very complex, and the provision for wheels gives the bag the appearance of being difficult, if not impossible, to carry due to its weight. Further, because of the complexity of the device, it is questionable whether the golfer's convenience is increased or decreased. Similar problems manifest themselves in the "Golf Club Carrier" of Donald Embinder, U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,051, issued Mar. 15, 1977, and the "Golf Bag" of Christian H. Kirchhoff, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,563, issued May 17, 1983. The Street, Embinder, and Kirchhoff devices also suffer from being too heavy to carry easily.
This problem was addressed by the "Golf Bag" of Luther T. Henning, U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,484, issued Oct. 30, 1979. This bag makes use of lightweight flexible material to decrease overall carry weight. It also attempts to allow for orderly storage of clubs by providing a "honeycombed" interior. A disadvantage of this device is that using fabric for the interior division would make the compartments relatively fragile.
One of the more common methods for trying to establish orderly storage in the golf bag is a device that is meant to be added to a standard golf bag. An exammple is the "Golf Bag Club Separator" of David E. Zopf, U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,153, issued Dec. 19, 1978. The Zopf device is meant to be inserted in the base of a bag. An inherent disadvantage is that the compartments formed by this type of device do not extend the length of the bag.
Other "add on" devices are the "Golf Bag Insert" of Raymond Costa, U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,387, issued May 22, 1979, and the "Interior Space Divider for Golf Bag" of Robert A. Kennedy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,178, issued Jan. 19, 1982. While these devices more effectively divide the bag's interior, a disadvantage is created in that the bag is no longer an integral device--two pieces of equipment are required.
None of the prior art effectively provides an easily transportable, integral device that allows effective club separation through division of the bag's interior space.